


To Divide Is Not To Take Away

by angel_ponders



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: 2017 European Figure Skating Championships, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Katsuki Yuuri, Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Pets, This is literally 15000k of FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9980186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_ponders/pseuds/angel_ponders
Summary: Victor and Yuuri finally move in together in St Petersburg after Nationals.  They are both exhausted and adjusting to their new life together when Yurio shows up at their doorstep dealing with frustration regarding his own living situation.  Somehow the trio makes their new dynamic work and learn a lot about themselves along the way.“True Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, 'Here comes one who will augment our loves.' For in this love'to divide is not to take away."― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves





	1. Prologue: December 11th, 2016-December 27th 2016

**Author's Note:**

> **Author** : [Angel](https://twitter.com/angel_ponders)  
>  **Artist** : [Jace](http://hiddenontheice.tumblr.com/)\- ART POST (coming soon)  
>  **Betas** : [Tennyo](https://twitter.com/Kaeos_Tennyo) and [Gryffinduh](https://twitter.com/LustyJustice)  
>  **Russian Tips From:**[ Lera](https://twitter.com/char_master)
> 
>  **Author’s Notes:** There’s been some debate on whether the GPF season depicted in season one of Yuri on Ice is supposed to be the 2015-2016 season (which also ended in Barcelona) or the 2016-2017 based on other contextual clues. I held a poll on twitter and the results were 46% for 2015-2016 and 54% for 2016-2017, so clearly we’re divided on this.
> 
> I made an executive decision to choose the 2016-2017 season, so I apologize to the 46% that disagree! Hopefully the discrepancy doesn’t distract from the rest of the fic. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ART POST (coming soon)  
> This post will be updated today with a link to the Tumblr post with the artwork.

 

**Prologue  
December 11th, 2016-December 27th 2016**

Victor had just twelve days between the end of the Grand Prix Final on December 11th and the start of Russian National Championships on December 23rd. He had to put together two complete programs entirely from scratch in that short window and perfect them enough to compete. All of Hasetsu pulled together to make Victor’s programs happen. Despite the fact that Victor would be competing against Yuuri at Worlds and was thus technically a ‘rival,’ they were enthusiastic with their support. They viewed Victor as one of their own, too, and they weren’t going to let him go at it alone out of some sense of exclusionary loyalty to Japan’s top skater. Victor Nikiforov was Hasetsu’s adopted son and they had to take care of him when he needed support. It touched Victor to be loved as if he were one of their own.

Victor’s Short Program represented Storge, a third Greek concept of love. The music was a warm and bright feeling that embodied the familial love the term was defined by. The _On Love: Storge_ arrangement was a soft piano piece with accompanying violins and cellos. Yuuri’s usual tailor stepped in to create the design that he’d scribbled in a notepad on the flight back from Barcelona. The top of his costume was a soft white tunic that faded to gray as it reached his waist. The sequins that started at the hem of the tunic and twisted up to his left shoulder sparkled when they caught the light and threw beautiful patterns across the walls. His black pants had shimmering silver accents running up the right leg similar to the ones on the Eros costume, but softer and less erotic. The accents continued the pattern from where the sequins ended at the edge of the tunic, creating one long swirl. All together it was an elegant blend of the Eros and Agape costumes, which was an intentional effort on his part to make their short programs complement each other at Worlds.

His Free Skate took longer to put together. He didn’t even have music until a local Hasetsu band stepped in to save the day. After an all night jam session, Victor and the up and coming rock band NE2KO cranked out a track that represented Victor’s time in the small Kyushu town. The modern soft rock guitar, drums, and vocals blended with classic shamisen and hotchiku to create a unique fusion of new and old. His costume was also inspired by the town. A loose fitting black silk blouse, locally printed with vibrant pink sakura blossom trees, was paired with simple black pants. The sakura trees had been in bloom when he'd first arrived, albeit covered in snow, and he’d been in love with them ever since. He hoped to see them bloom again when the skating season ended. He even found some fake sakura blossoms to weave into his hair during the performance. If Victor had his way, they’d return to Hasetsu every year, for the rest of their lives, to see the sakura blossoms bloom.

Unfortunately, Yuuri wouldn't get to see the pieces all come together between his own coaching, packing up his belongings, and filing paperwork for his Visa. The next chance Yuuri would have to see the entire piece come together in person with music, costume, and choreography wouldn’t be until the European Championships nearly a month away. He’d be there as a spectator, not a performer, but they still managed to get him a rinkside pass somehow.

Victor was fortunate enough to catch Yuuri’s Short Program at Japan’s Nationals before having to hop on a plane and fly immediately to Russia. His own Short Program was less than 24 hours later and would be happening almost simultaneously with Yuuri’s Free Skate. They’d texted constantly during they day they were both performing to encourage each other. Despite his guilt over having to miss the performance, Victor was certain it wouldn't be a repeat of rostelecom; Minako had stepped in to be with yuuri rinkside throughout the day, ensuring good mental health.

Yuuri ended up winning gold. It wasn’t his first time winning gold there, but it was definitely by the largest margin he’d ever done before. Minami took silver behind him, and an up and coming skater from Nagano took bronze. The new generation of Japanese skaters was falling in line behind Yuuri, ready to take his place as a national champion. Yuuri wasn’t ready to step away from the ice yet, though. His faith in himself had been renewed with Victor’s support and he felt like his career could last many more years if he wanted it to.

As a result of his participation at Nationals he missed seeing both of Victor’s programs in person. As soon as he’d accepted his medal, he showered, changed, and grabbed his suitcase to head to the airport. Yuuri had watched Victor’s Short Program on his phone as he boarded the plane, but nothing could compare to seeing Victor perform in person. Soon, he thought to himself. He’d get to see both programs skated in person in less than a month. These stressful few weeks were almost over and soon they’d get to relax a little bit and enjoy each other’s performances in person.

Yuuri landed in Saint Petersburg on a chilly Tuesday evening, just a few short hours after Victor got the first silver medal he’d won in over six years. Yurio edged him out by 1.92 points, but the wide smile on Victor’s face as he stood by the baggage claim indicated he didn’t mind being second this time around. He seemed happy with where his life had taken him at that moment. Yuuri understood that feeling completely. He’d felt similarly at the GPF. He’d never imagined how satisfying coming in second could feel, but everything that had led to that moment made it the most satisfying thing he’d ever earned.

When Yuuri rushed into Victor’s arms, it felt like a weight was being lifted off his shoulders. The past two weeks of stress and anxiety washed away. He was coming home. Sure, he'd never actually lived in Saint Petersburg before, but wherever Victor was would be ‘home.’ And in that moment home was in Victor’s arms in the middle of the airport next to the luggage carousel.

“I missed you,” Victor said as he kissed the side of Yuuri’s head.

“I missed you too,” he said, tightening the embrace.

They stood there for several long minutes as the world continued to move around them. Travelers picked up their bags and moved on with their lives, but for them the only thing that existed in that moment was themselves. Eventually the crowd dispersed and the only bag left on the conveyor belt was Yuuri’s. It was time to go.


	2. Chapter One: December 28th, 2016

**Chapter One  
** **December 28th, 2016**

 

_“True Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, 'Here comes one who will augment our loves.' For in this love 'to divide is not to take away.”_

**_―_** C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

 

 

Yuuri woke to the sound of a strained and heated discussion.  He couldn't make out a word of was was being said as it sounded like Russian, but whatever the subject matter, it was definitely upsetting. It took Yuuri several long moments to remember where he was.   _Saint Petersburg.  Victor’s- no,_ **_our_ ** _apartment.  New bed. New home. New city.  Same fiance_.  

He blinked his eyes open and took in the crisp white walls of Victor’s modern apartment, pulling the plush comforter up over him tightly, hoping to grab a few more minutes of sleep.  They'd gotten in late last night. It was almost midnight when they’d finally gone to bed, and it was only just past 6 in the morning now. He was so exhausted he was willing to ignore the somewhat unusual situation he was overhearing.  But when one of those voices escalated into a shout he decided he needed to investigate.

He threw off the covers and blearily wandered down the hallway into the living room.  There he found Victor and Yurio talking back and forth intensely, completely unaware that he was there.  Yurio looked distressed as he ran his hands through his hair and spat rapid fire Russian at Victor.  Yuuri spotted the younger skater’s backpack and duffle bag by the door, but he knew Yakov’s skaters didn't tend to take to the ice until much later in the day.  Only Victor would be headed out this early to grab a couple of hours solo to make up for the time he'd lost on the ice earlier this season. So why did Yurio have so much stuff with him?

When Victor spotted him in the hallway, he switched to English mid conversation with Yurio, automatically accommodating for Yuuri as a courtesy.

“You can stay here today,” Victor said with a sigh as he turned back to the younger skater. “I'll talk to Yakov. And Lilia.  It'll be alright.”

Yurio was not as accommodating and tersely responded to Victor in Russian before plopping down on his couch with a defiant sigh.  Victor muttered something back to the teen before crossing the room and addressing Yuuri directly.

“I'll be back at lunch,” he said as he took Yuuri into his arms and kissed him gently on the forehead.  “You don't have to be awake this early. You must be jet lagged.”

“It's okay. I slept a lot on the plane.  I have some unpacking to do anyway.”  He’d sent his belongings in waves and he knew that some of his boxes of clothing had already arrived. Much of his stuff was still en route, but he could at least put his clothes away.

“Alright,” Victor said as he brushed Yuuri’s growing bangs out of his eyes.  “We’ll head out around four. Yakov's team should be wrapping up their ice time then and I can concentrate on _you_.”  Victor left a soft kiss on Yuuri’s forehead then.

“Gross,” Yurio muttered from the couch, but he quickly distracted himself with his phone.

Victor laughed slightly at the teen’s reaction, but otherwise just continued to speak with Yuuri as though they hadn’t been interrupted.

“I hate to go on your first day here, but-”

“I get it,” Yuuri said with a smile.  “You need to make up for the half of the season you missed.  I’ll see you at lunch.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

There was one last parting kiss before Victor grabbed his coat and scarf, picked up his bag, and left for the rink.  Yakov had been extremely accommodating by giving him a few hours by himself on the ice, and also letting them use the same rink for Yuuri’s coaching when his own team had finished.  It would be strange sharing a rink with the Russian team on their home turf, but despite Yakov’s rough exterior he really did seem to care about his skaters.  While Yuuri wasn’t his skater, he was important to Victor and, by extension, a part of what was obviously his skating family.  Yuuri was perhaps like a son-in-law, he thought, and they were Skating family by marriage. He wondered if he’d ever bond with any rinkmate like he’d bonded with Phichit back in Detroit.  That truly felt like _family_.

Yuuri turned his attention to the teen typing furiously on his phone on the couch.  He didn’t quite know what was going on, but Yurio was clearly going through something.  When Yuuri was going through something himself, he often wanted to be left alone until he was actually ready to work through the situation.  He had no idea if Yurio was the same in that regard, but he opted to give him space and focus on getting coffee and food before he tackled the boxes of clothes piled in the corner of the bedroom.  At the very least he should put his clothes in the drawers and closet space that Victor had cleared for him today.

Yuuri found the coffee maker easily, but had to poke around for several moment to find the coffee grounds.  He set up the coffee maker to brew and opened the fridge to find it practically empty.  There’d be no milk for the coffee.  No food for breakfast, either.  He’d have to find a store.  At the very least he hoped to find sugar for his coffee somewhere in the many cabinets of Victor’s sparsely accessorized kitchen.  Plain coffee sounded like a brutal way to wake up, though it’d certainly get the job done.  Still, he had to have sugar _somewhere_.  But cabinet after cabinet turned up completely empty.  What the hell did Victor eat?

“What do you need, Katsudon,” Yurio said grumpily from the couch.

“Oh, uh, does Victor have sugar?”

“Cabinet above the fridge,” he said without looking up from his phone.

Yuuri grabbed a footstool from under the counter to retrieve the sugar from the high shelf.  He’d have to reorganize some things.  Victor had a few inches on him and storing such a necessary item on a top shelf just wasn’t going to work for him.   _Was that rude? Was it rude to move in and suddenly start reorganize things?_ God, this was all so new to him.  He had no idea what was normal in this situation.

“Yuri,” he said as he stepped down and put the stool away.  The teen made a small sound of acknowledgement, but otherwise stayed glued to his phone.  “Do you want some coffee?”

“Nn,” the teen grunted, fingers flying across the screen a mile a minute.  

“You sure? It’s pretty early.”

“Nyet,” he said more firmly.  Sticking to Russian seemed to be an easy way for him to be casually petulant.

“Okay,” Yuuri said as he poured himself a cup.  This felt slightly awkward already.  Yuuri wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with Yurio there.  Ignore him?  But ugh, he didn’t have much time to think of that.  He’d get hungry soon and he needed to find a store. “Yurio?”

“What,” he spat out, sounding slightly irritated at Yuuri’s attempts at communication.

“Uh, is there a store nearby? The kitchen is kind of bare. I want to pick up a few things.”

“Two blocks west across the street,” he said, taking a moment to gesture vaguely with his hand.

“Thanks,” Yuuri said softly as he scooped a couple of spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee.

Yuuri sipped his drink and decided his trip to the store could wait a bit.  He needed to wake up before even attempting to navigate a new city with signs in a language he couldn’t read.  He opted to spend the few minutes it’d take him to drink the coffee, wander around the apartment and get his bearings.  The living room and kitchen were one large wide open space with white walls and new, hardly used appliances.  It was clear Victor hadn't spent much time in the kitchen.  He was a lover of food, but not much a lover of cooking it seemed.  Yuuri wasn’t that great of a cook himself, but he’d learned basics from his mom before he went off to college.  He fended for himself for five years and had a limited budget, so he ended up spending more nights making meals at home than he really wanted to.  He supposed it was a useful skill to have, though.

Further exploration led him to the rooms branching off from the hallway that led to the master bedroom.  On the left was a smaller guest bedroom and bathroom.  He took a peek into each, but much like the living room and kitchen they were sparsely decorated.  They had slightly warmer cream walls and golden furniture and linens.  Much like the kitchen, they seemed seldom used.  Victor could probably have rented a one bedroom and been just fine.  Still, Yuuri could see how useful the extra room would be when inviting guests over so he couldn’t fault Victor for opting for a larger space than was strictly necessary.  He could afford it, after all.  Being a Living Legend had its perks.

On the right side of the hallway was a spacious study that led off to a balcony.  The entire wall to the study was glass, giving him a expansive view of downtown Saint Petersburg from six stories high.  Yuuri wandered up to the glass and soaked in the view of the city he’d now be calling home.  If it weren’t late December and snowing, he’d have stepped out to take in the view more thoroughly.  For now, though, he was content standing in the nice heated room sipping his coffee.  The view could wait.

The bookshelves against the wall to the right were full, but there was an unassembled bookshelf identical to the ones already up just waiting to be put together.  Victor must have had it delivered because he doubted he’d had enough time to run out and buy anything during Nationals. Yuuri hadn't brought many books, but he still eyed the box the shelf came in suspiciously, unsure it'd be able to hold the three boxes he'd shipped over. Those boxes had yet to arrive, despite having shipped them the week prior to arrival. He'd have to see if they’d fit once they showed up, he supposed.  Yuuri had majored in English in college and had picked up the habit of reading when flying around the world to competitions.  He knew lugging his books halfway around the world didn’t make a lot of sense, but having his favorites within reach was a comforting thought.

On the opposite wall Victor had his medals displayed in a large glass hutch. Yuuri gasped, not having realized until this moment that he'd never seen Victor’s medals in person.  He hadn’t brought them with him to Hasetsu.  Yuuri touched the glass and stood in awe as his eyes wandered the shelves.  There were well over twenty gold medals from various events, with a few silvers from his earlier years placed on the lower shelves with the golds from the smaller national and regional events.  Victor had never placed below silver since entering the senior division, and only missed the podium once his first year as a junior.  Russian Nationals had broken that gold medal streak, and he wondered where in the display he’d place the streak breaking Silver.  He honestly didn’t seem that upset about not coming in first.

Yuuri’s own medals were being shipped special handling at this very moment. He'd taken the gold he'd won at nationals with him on the flight, thinking now that it was still probably shoved in his suitcase somewhere, untouched since he took it off after leaving the rink and heading to the airport.  Yuuri didn't feel the need to bring them initially.  He was proud of his medals, but they didn’t give him the sort of comfort his books did.  But Victor insisted that they were important and needed to come with him to their new place.  It didn't occur to Yuuri why at the time, but when he noticed the top shelf was left empty it all clicked into place.  He wanted to put them on display together.  He clutched his chest at the realization.

“Oi, Katusdon,” Yurio said from the door of the study.

The sound of the teen’s voice snapped him out of his daze and he turned to look at him.  

“Hm?”

“There's no food here and I'm hungry.  If you want me to show you where the closest store is get dressed and let's go.”

Yuuri was sure he could find the way to the store on his own, but it made him smile knowing that Yurio was thinking about him.  Yurio wasn’t as blatant about how much he cared about people like Victor was, Yuuri knew this.  It made the small gestures like this mean so much more.

“That'd be great, Yurio,” he said with a smile.

“Not my name, Katsudon!”

“Of course.”

-

 

The corner store was relatively small, but it had most of the basics he’d need.  Thankfully most of the items had English as well as the Cyrillic alphabet he was nervous about adapting to.  He wouldn’t have been as lost as he’d initially assumed.  Still, he was grateful for the company.  The outing seemed to be good for Yurio as well.  The teen was much more visibly relaxed on the walk back than he was when he first arrived at Victor’s apartment earlier that morning.

“Thank you,” Yuuri said.  “I appreciate the help with this.”

“Yeah, whatever,” the teen responded with a huff.  “There’s a Lenta about two trolley stops up that’ll have a better selection if you need it later.  But I didn’t feel like hopping on the trolley.”

“Good to know.” He wasn’t sure what a ‘Lenta’ was, but he’d google it later.

When they got to the apartment Yuuri shifted his groceries and unlocked the door. He gestured for Yurio to go in ahead as he propped the door open with his elbow.  The younger skater brushed right past him and went straight to the kitchen to make a bowl of cereal.  Yurio definitely seemed comfortable in Victor’s apartment, and he wondered just how much time the teen had spent there.  He knew rink mates could be close, but clearly their friendship was even closer than most.  Brotherly, maybe.  Familial.

“Will you be staying for lunch?” Yuuri asked  as he crossed the room towards the kitchen.  He set the bags down on the counter as Yurio poured milk over his cereal.

“No. I should go to the rink.” He set the milk on the counter and began scarfing down his breakfast like he hadn’t eaten in days.  The metabolism of an athlete was truly something to behold.

Yuuri started to unload the groceries, unsure of where everything was supposed to go.  The kitchen probably hadn’t seen this much food in it at any point during Victor’s residency here.  He could probably stick things in completely random places and it’d go unnoticed by Victor.  He got lost in thought for a moment imagining how they’d probably develop routines and habits in this kitchen about their meals.  They were _engaged_ .  They were going to get _married_.  It was all so domestic.

As Yurio ate his breakfast at the kitchen counter, Yuuri shot off a message to Victor, who’d probably be on the rink right now.  

_What’s up with Yurio?_

To his surprise, Victor texted back immediately.

 

 

Yuuri paused at the text and smiled.

  


 

Yuuri sighed.  He felt somewhat like an intruder into Yurio’s life.  This wasn’t his business.  Yurio might even resent him a bit for being there even though he was kind enough to show him where the store was earlier that morning.  It was hard to read what exactly was going on behind the teen’s angry exterior.  Victor could read him, though.  They knew so much more about each other than Yuuri did.  They had a history.  Yuuri rubbed his eyes and sighed.  It was all so complicated. 

His phone buzzed again and he glanced down at his phone.

  


 

Yurio didn’t return to the apartment that night.  Whatever issue he’d had at Lilia’s early that morning had seemed to work itself out at the rink.  Yuuri was glad both for Yurio’s sake and his own.  Yuuri was bad at awkward situations on the best of days, but being jet lagged and exhausted would have only made things worse.


	3. Chapter Two: January 1st, 2017

**Chapter Two  
** **January 1st, 2017**

 

 _“Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities.”_ ― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

 

 

  
The New Year’s fireworks were beautiful.  It was freezing outside, but Yuuri endured the chill to stand on the balcony to view the sky over Saint Petersburg.  Russia was far colder than Japan, but he attempted to hide from the frigid cold the best he could under his three layers and heavy coat.  Russia was colder than japan, but he could huddle from the cold in his layers and victor's arms. Yuuri basked in the warmth of victor's embrace as fireworks brought in 2017.

“S novym schastyem, Yuuri,” Victor said with a kiss to his temple.  Yuuri didn’t understand the words themselves, but he assumed it was some sort of New Year greeting and responded in kind.

“Akemashite omedetou,” Yuuri said as he turned his head to capture Victor’s lips with his own.  They kissed as the sounds of fireworks began to fade.  Yuuri pulled back slightly.  “We should get to sleep, though.  You have to be up early.”

“Mm, or we could take the day off,” Victor said with a smirk.  He leaned in to kiss Yuuri again, but the younger skater pulled back.

“Twenty-five days, Victor,” Yuuri scolded softly.  European Championships was the next big event between the two of them and Yuuri was conscious of the fact that Victor had to use his time wisely.

“That’s plenty of time,” Victor said, pouting that Yuuri had evaded his kiss.  “Besides, I’m the coach.  And coach says you deserve the day off.”

“You’re _my_ coach,” Yuuri said as he leaned into Victor’s arms, seeking warmth against the midnight chill.  “What would _your_ coach say.

  
“Fine fine,” he said with a playful roll of the eyes.  “Let’s go inside then.” 

They retreated to the warmth of the apartment and began to remove their numerous layers before bed.  He wasn’t sure Victor would be willing to wake up at 6:00 am after staying up this late, though, and he mentally chided himself for encouraging him to watch the fireworks.  Victor’s schedule was so packed, and he didn’t want to take more days off the ice than the occasionally scheduled break.  He’d have to be up early even though they had waited until past midnight to go to bed.

After less than a week they’d developed a routine regarding practice, but it was already being shaken up slightly due to the holiday.  Victor would be out the door before 7:00am to get a few hours in before the rest of Yakov’s crew rolled in around 10:00am.  He’d then stick with the group until around noon, when he’d break off from the others to head back to the apartment.  He and Yuuri would spend a few hours together before they’d head back to the rink around 4:00pm.  Yakov’s crew was usually clearing off the ice about then and they’d squeeze in a few hours on the ice before dinner.  

As he was preparing the electric kettle to brew tea in the morning for Victor, he heard a knock at the door.  He froze and listened, unsure if he heard fireworks or a knock, but the sound came again, this time accompanied by Yurio's voice

“Oy, open up!”  The teen was speaking in English, obviously expecting the possibility that Yuuri was the only one within ear shot.

Yuuri opened the door and the younger skater brushed passed him and tossed his backpack on the couch.  He didn’t have his skating duffle bag with him this time.  It was just his personal belongings.

“Yurio?” Yuuri questioned.

“Katsudon,” the teen snapped back, turning on his heels and looking around the dark apartment.  “Where’s Victor?”

“Going to bed. Are you alright?”

“Yuri?” Victor said from the doorway, causing both men to turn and look at him.  It was clear after a moment that he was referring to the younger teen as he raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“I need a place to crash tonight,” he said as he ran his hands through his hair again.  He then said something quickly in Russian.

“Of course.” Victor said with a nod.

“Please tell me you guys got the New Years kissing out of the way,” Yurio said as he looked between the two of them.  

“Mm, yes,” Victor said with a somewhat devious smile.  “Just regular kissing now.”

“Ugh, no, I get enough of that at home.”

“What?”  Yuuri said, suddenly very confused.  Clearly he’d missed something.

“Lilia and Yakov are totally getting back together,” Yurio said with an look of absolute disgust.  “I have to watch old people flirting with each other.  I’d rather see you two being all disgusting than them.  Had to book it out of their before the clock counted down and they made out or something.”

Yuuri hid his laughter politely behind his hand and looked at Victor, who was equally struggling to keep a straight face.

“Hey, it’s not funny!” Yurio crossed his arms defiantly.

“It’s pretty funny,” Victor said.  “If you are trying to avoid couples kissing, I’m not sure this is the best place for you.  You realize we’re engaged, right?” Victor strode across the room and wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist.  “We’re going to kiss, like, all the time.”

He leaned in for a kiss, but Yuuri’s hand shot up, blocking his mouth from making contact causing Victor to pout.

  
“Victor, stop teasing him.” 

“What?” Victor looked absolutely scandalized to have been stopped mid kiss.  “No, I can’t have the Yuri’s ganging up on me now.  You’re supposed to be on _my_ side.   _You're my fiance_.”

“Just let him sleep,” Yuuri said, stifling a laugh at Victor sulked against his shoulder.  He could be rather petulant himself, it seemed.

“That’s no fun,” Victor said against Yuuri’s shoulder.

“I’m not here for your amusement,” Yurio said with a huff.  “For once, I agree with Katsudon.”

“You really are ganging up on me!” Victor raised his head then and shot Yurio a shocked expression. “No! I need to find another Victor and even the score.”

“Victor. Bed,” Yuuri said definitively, turning Victor around and pushing him gently towards the hallway.

“I like it when you’re bossy,” he said over his shoulder.

“Disgusting!” Yurio shouted, falling onto the couch and pulling his hood over his head.

Victor finally relented and retreated to the master bedroom.  Yuuri, however, lingered in the kitchen, setting it up for Victor’s morning routine.  He hadn’t intended on taking on such a domestic approach to their living situation, but if he didn’t step in Victor would just buy things on his way to the rink every morning.  Money wasn’t exactly a problem, but there was no need to be wasteful.  It took less than five minutes to ready a travel mug for tea in the morning and pack a small mid-morning snack for him.  He felt it was the least he could do since Victor had to get up so early for ice time because of him.  Again, _so domestic_ , Yuuri thought. But he kind of liked it.

“You guys already act like you’re married,” Yurio snorted as he watched Yuuri finish prepping.

“Well, we will be.”  Sometimes it felt surreal to him, but hey, they were engaged now. This was his reality now.

“Only if you win gold,” Yurio said.  “Which you won’t as long as I’m around.”

“Maybe,” Yuuri said as he finished up and walked into the living room.

“Definitely,” Yurio shot back.  

“You won’t be competing in Four Continents.”

“Heh,” Yurio huffed. “Then I guess you have a chance.”  Yuuri just smiled at him.  “What?  Don’t look so happy about losing!”

“No, I was just thinking…”

“About what?”

“If you moved in here, it’d be both the Japanese and Russian national gold medalists under one roof.  Victor would be the lowest ranking medalist for the season here.  How _strange_.”

“Ha! Wonder how that’d make him feel.”

“He’d probably smile about it, honestly,” Yuuri considered. Victor’s records were being smashed and he was ranking lower on the podium than he had for many years, but he was still so cheerful about everything.  “He likes seeing you do well, I think.”

“And you too, you know? Hearts are practically shooting out of his eyes when he watches you skate.”  Yurio paused.  “Wait, what do you mean ‘if I move in?’  Who said anything about that?”

“Oh, um…” Yuuri stammered.  He hadn’t meant to let that slip.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you should.  I just noticed… You’re always welcome here.  If you wanted to… I mean...”

“Fuck that.  I just needed to get out of the house for the night.  Don’t make such a big deal of it.”  

Yurio grabbed his backpack and stomped down the hall towards the guest room.  He slammed the door and Yuuri cringed, hoping the sound didn’t bring Victor out of their room again.  He really needed his sleep.  Several long moments passed with no sound coming from either room and Yuuri let out out a sigh of relief.  He hoped he hadn’t screwed things up.  Maybe he shouldn’t push.  Victor and Yurio had clearly been doing this for a while.  He didn’t need to interfere. His anxiety tended to kick in when people he cared about were in distress.  But he was already entering unfamiliar territory moving to a country where he didn’t speak the language and had no ties other than to his fiance.  Too much was going on to shake things up any further.  Yurio dropping by was just going to be part of their life, he figured.  And he shouldn’t try to change anything else.

-

 

Yuuri woke up just past 8 AM to the smell of coffee and something being cooked.  Victor was already gone, which was slightly surprising considering they’d stayed out late and he’d teased about skipping the day.  Victor was dedicated, though, and probably would have still put hours in on the ice with half the amount of sleep he managed to get.  Was Yurio cooking?  Yuuri’s curiosity got the better of him and he got out of bed.

Yuuri stumbled out of their room to find Yurio in the kitchen, confirming his suspicion that he was the one sending such wonderful smells through the apartment.  There was a small stack of very thin pancakes already set on the counter, but Yurio was still busy cooking.  He was so consumed with the task he didn’t notice Yuuri approach until he was already stepping into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee.  Yuuri knew now that Yurio didn’t drink it himself, so he must have brewed it specifically for him.  

“Thank you, Yurio,” he said as he poured himself a cup.

The teen just nodded and continued cooking.  Soon enough, Yurio was setting a plate with one of those thin pancakes folded into a triangle, a fried egg, and what looked like ham placed on top.

“Kolbasa,” Yurio said as he pointed to the meat.  “Blini,” he said as he pointed to the weird pancake thing.  When Yuuri just stared at him with a complete look of surprise on his face he frowned.  “What? I’m not a total asshole.”

“No, of course!” Yuuri said waving his hands in front of him in apology.  “I was just surprised.  I didn’t know you cooked.”  He was surprised by the gesture, too but he wanted to move past that before he offended him.  He still wasn’t sure how to handle his expression of emotion.

“My grandpa taught me,” he said as he turned around and made his own plate.  

Yuuri opted to stand in the kitchen as he ate his food while he sat at the counter.  Several long minutes passed as they ate in silence.  Yuuri very much liked the food Yurio had prepared for them and he wondered if this was just a New Year’s celebration breakfast or if the teen cooked like this often.  Either way, the kid was talented both on and off the ice.  The breakfast was absolutely delicious.

“So, I’ve been thinking about what you said,” the teen said with a sigh. He gripped the edge of the counter and lowered his head, hiding his face behind his long hair.  “About me moving in here...”

  
“Oh?”  Yuuri shifted on the stool, unsure of how this conversation was going to go.  Did he overstep?  Did he ruin this? 

“Do you really think it’d be okay if I lived here?” He looked up and Yuuri had never seen such a vulnerable expression on Yurio’s face before.  He’d never seen the kid ask for _anything_ , but he looked like he had a very real fear of being rejected just then.   _Fear_ and _Yurio_ seemed to be two things that never crossed paths, but right now it was very much present.

“Of course,” Yuuri said hastily, and Yurio sighed with relief, dropping his head as the tension drained from his body.  “I didn’t realize it was that bad!”  
  
“It’s not! I mean, it’s not ‘bad.’  Look,” he said as he shifted on his feet slightly.  “Yakov and Lilia are great.  Harsh, yeah, but they got me the gold at GPF and Nationals.  But I can’t live with my coach.  I need some space to not be in training mode all the damn time.”  He rubbed his face in frustration.  “And god, I heard them having sex last week and that’s something nobody should hear.”  Yuuri hid his laugh behind his hands again.  “NOT FUNNY KATSUDON!”

“It’s a little funny,” he said, trying his best to stop laughing.  “But I can’t guarantee that part won’t happen here, too. You’d be moving out from one couple and moving in with another.”

“Still much preferred over them.  They’re _old._ ” Yuuri laughed again.  “Still gross, though.  Please, like, bite a pillow or something.”

“I’ll make sure Victor stays quiet.”

“Okay, too much information Katsudon.  I don’t want that mental image.”

There was silence again as Yuuri sipped from his mug and simply enjoyed the aroma of the coffee.  Even with the unexpected houseguest, it was a pleasant morning in the apartment he was quickly beginning to think of as ‘home.’  It’d been less than a week and Yurio had already been over twice.  If he did move in, he wondered how he’d slip into their daily lives.  He didn’t mind him his presence.  He… actually enjoyed his company. And when did _that_ happen?  He’d long ago stopped being bothered by Yurio’s attitude and had recognized the small gestures of affection for the monumental moments that they were.  But somehow he began to enjoy those small events.  He even enjoyed the sass.  

“So… I guess I should talk to Victor, too,” Yurio said, shaking Yuuri from his thoughts.

“He’ll be okay with it.  I can talk to him if you’d like?”  
  
“Nah, this conversation has been a long time coming.  There’s a history to this.”

  
Yuuri nodded.  Victor and Yurio had their own history and their own form of love.  He was only beginning to truly see just how important the two had become to each other and he was happy to let them discuss the change in their living situation in private if that’s what the teen needed.  He knew how it’d turn out in the end.  The Katsuki-Nikiforov household was about to gain a very grumpy, but very meaningful roommate.


	4. Chapter Three: January 7, 2017

**Chapter Three  
** **January 7, 2017**

  
  
  


Victor's fifteen-year-long habit of waking before dawn ensured he woke up before Yuuri, even on their days off and despite his increased training schedule. On this particular morning he used that time to help Yurio move his belongings from Yakov's house across town. Since Yurio didn't own much, they were almost done by the time Yuuri woke. When he noticed the time, Yuuri initially felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't been awake to help, but surely someone would have woken him if he'd been needed? He rubbed his eyes and groggily crawled out of bed to join the rest of the household.

When Yuuri walked out into the living room at half past ten in the morning, he encountered Yakov carrying one of the last boxes through the living room.

“Hello Yuuri,” Yakov said in greeting before setting the box on the kitchen table.

“Yakov,” he said politely, groggily making his way to the coffee machine to brew a pot.  None of the Russians seemed to enjoy coffee much so he set up the machine to brew a small two cup pot just for himself.

Once the coffee was in progress, Yuuri turned back to the dining area and noticed Yakov was still lingering in the common area. Yakov had taken a seat at the kitchen table and just sat there staring off towards the hallway where the faint sounds of Yurio and Victor talking drifted from. Yuuri had trained at the same ice rink as Yakov’s skaters all week since they’d made the decision to invite Yurio to move in.  They hadn’t exactly exchanged any words about the situation, though.  Victor and Yurio had mainly dealt with the logistics and Yuuri suddenly realized he really had no idea how Yakov felt about the situation.  Was it even any of his business?  He wasn’t sure. 

“He’s a good kid,” Yakov said, snapping Yuuri out of his thoughts.  “This untouched kitchen is about to get some use.  Yuri is talented off the ice, too.  He’s never found a hobby he couldn’t excel at with just a little bit of practice.”

“I remember he made the Katsudon Prishki’s his grandfather taught him how to cook,” Yuuri said as he remembered the food fondly.  “It’ll be a nice change of pace.  Victor barely likes using the microwave.”

They both chuckled at the thought.  Victor loved food, but wasn’t very skilled in the kitchen.  Nor did he seem to have any interest anything too complicated.  He did love watching other people cook, though, and would often spend a lot of time in the onsen kitchen as Yuuri’s mom prepared meals for the guests.  Yuuri’s mom didn’t know English or Russian, and Victor didn’t know Japanese, but they still seemed to enjoy each other’s company despite the language barrier. 

“Yuri is always a bit ahead of Victor, it seems,” Yakov said with a sigh.  “Just one step ahead of the mark with everything he does.”

“How so?” Yuuri said.  Just then the coffee machine beeped, and he turned back around to make a cup as Yakov continued.

“He’s breaking records at a younger age than Victor.  And now he’s moving out at a younger age, too.”

There was silence as Yuuri finished making his cup of coffee.  Yuuri knew a lot about Victor, not just from being a fan for so long, but from how much they’d shared with each other over the past ten months together.  Still, there were parts of Victor’s past that were a mystery to him.  He knew that he’d lived with Yakov for many years, but he didn’t know what sparked Victor moving out.  It was around the same time that Victor cut his hair, and Yuuri briefly wondered if the two incidents were related.  He could imagine a very moody teenage Victor going through his rebellious stage.  He wondered if that was what’d inspired some of his more offbeat programs during the 2008-2009 season.

When he turned back around Yakov was looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Take care of him, Yuuri,” Yakov said, his eyes softening as a subtle smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.  “Or rather, take care of each other.  He’d never let you _ just  _ take care of him.”

Just then Yurio and Victor emerged from the spare bedroom that would soon officially become Yurio’s.  They were mid conversation when they spotted Yakov, who now turned his softened expression on the two of them.

“Yura,” Yakov said as he stood up.  “I need to be going.”

“Yeah,” Yurio said, awkwardly standing a few feet away from Yakov.  “See you Monday at the rink?”

  
“Of course, Yura,” Yakov said, closing the gap and pulling the teen into a hug.

Yuuri had never seen Yakov be openly affectionate with someone like that before.  The way Victor talked about him, though, made Yuuri think there were hidden depths to Yakov.  You didn’t coach so many record-breaking skaters just by being gruff and strict at the rink.  Yakov really cared about them, but Yuuri had never been around at the right moment to see him show it.

As soon as Yakov left, Yurio retreated back into his room and firmly shut the door behind him.  A few seconds later the sound of rock music could be heard coming from his room.  He was making himself at home already.  At this rate, he’d probably be unpacked before Yuuri, who still had a stray box of books sitting ignored in the corner of their study.

-

 

It was mid afternoon when Yurio emerged from his room, wall and ceiling decorations finally arranged to his satisfaction.  Yurio went straight to the kitchen to make lunch, ignoring the ‘couple moment’ that he was no doubt battling the urge to comment on.  Victor and Yuuri were curled up on the couch watching some Russian TV drama with Makkachin curled up on the floor beside next to them.  Yuuri’s eyes fluttered shut as the gentle rise and fall of Victor’s chest began to lull him to sleep.  He wasn’t really tired as they hadn’t exactly done anything besides lounge on the couch the past few hours.  If anything, Victor should be the one falling asleep as he’d been busy since dawn.  But Victor was content to act as Yuuri’s pillow as the television droned on in the background, running his fingers through Yuuri’s lengthening hair in a soothing rhythm that only pushed Yuuri further towards sleep.

Their attention was diverted as Makkachin twitched and let out a low warning bark as though he were startled by something.  Yuuri sat up on the couch to get a better view of the area Makkachin was looking and spotted Yurio’s cat, Sasha, standing at the entrance of the hallway.  She was frozen in place, unsure of Makkachin’s reaction to her and clearly taken slightly by surprise herself.  She was probably used to following Yurio wherever he went, but wasn’t used to sharing her space with another pet.  The scent of another animal itself would set her on edge, but meeting him face to face was turning the whole situation much more tense. 

Makkachin lifted his head and watched Sasha, but otherwise remained still. His tail wasn’t even wagging.  Thinking back, Yuuri couldn’t remember any instance where Makkachin had encountered a cat.  There’d been a few dogs when they’d taken him for walks and he’d always been excited to greet them.  Right now he was surprisingly subdued.

“Should we… intervene?” Yuuri asked.  Victor sat up, too, to watch the scene unfold, wrapping his arms around Yuuri’s mid section.  

“No, I think it’ll be okay,” Victor assured him.  “Makkachin loves other animals.  Sasha will learn that.”

“What if  _ Sasha _ doesn’t love other animals.”

“Afraid she’ll hurt Makkachin?”

“Cats can be tough.  When Vicchan was a puppy…” Yuuri trailed off, suddenly choked up at the memory of his dog.  He’d already confessed to Victor that he’d named his dog after him, but he still got emotional thinking about his loss.  Being apart from him in his final years had been incredibly hard. 

“Did Vicchan get beat up by a cat?” Victor said lightly, leaving a gentle kiss on Yuuri’s shoulder and rubbing his back comfortingly.  It was enough to pull Yuuri back into the current situation.

“Yeah, the neighbor’s cat scratched him across the nose in the yard.”

“Oh, poor Vicchan,” Victor sing songed into Yuuri’s ear.  “He was a miniature, though, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“Makkachin is much bigger than him or Sasha.”

“Doesn’t make Sasha’s claws any less sharp.”

“Mm, let’s just see what happens. I think it’ll be alright.”

Sasha tiptoed along the wall on the opposite side of the room, keeping her distance from the unfamiliar creatures who were all now staring at her expectantly.  She meowed as she observed them, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble from anyone, but not yet ready to give up on her investigation of her new house mates.  Yurio was out of sight at this point and she was in unfamiliar surroundings, but she didn’t seem terribly frightened.  If anything, she seemed deeply curious about them, but still too wary of potential danger to move much further forward.

Just then Makkachin lowered his head back down to the carpet and gave a brief friendly wag of the tail.  Then he was still again as Sasha inched closer across the carpet, testing the boundaries of her newfound companions.  Makkachin’s new submissive position seemed to embolden her slightly.  It was slow progress, but after several long minutes, Sasha was within reach and gave Makkachin’s tail a cursory sniff.  Makka, to his credit, remained still through all of it.  

Sasha moved closer to Makkachin’s head and only then did Makkachin move to very carefully sniff her back.  Yuuri was kind of amazed at how accommodating Makka was towards another animal.  He wondered if he just had a naturally relaxed demeanor or if he had a lot of experience with cats prior to Yuuri getting to know him.  Had any of Victor’s previous roommates had cats? It was yet another mystery.

At that point Yurio entered the living room, sandwich in hand, and noticed the scene playing out.

“Uh, okay, if you two are cuddling and they are going to start cuddling, I’m going to have to put a stop to it.”

“What, too much love?” Victor teased as he kissed Yuuri on the cheek.

“No, it’s just Sasha is spoken for.  If she’s cuddling anyone, it’s going to be me.   _ Sasha, poshli-ka _ ,” he directed the last words at the cat.

Sasha eagerly pranced over to him, running between his legs as he walked back towards his room.  It seemed Makkachin and Sasha would more than likely get along, which was a relief.  Pets were an important part of all of their lives and if there was any stress among them it’d certainly have affected their living situation.  

Before Yuuri could get too deep in thought, Makkachin jumped up on the couch, trapping both Yuuri and Victor below him.  One of his paws landed awkwardly on Yuuri’s abdomen and he yelped in pain.

 

“Ah, Makka!” Victor shouted as the dog began to settle on top of them.

  
Yuuri laughed at the awkward position but wrapped an arm around the dog and accepted his fate as Makkachin’s new pillow.  


	5. Chapter Four: January 25, 2017 - European Championships

**Chapter Four**

**January 25, 2017  
** **European Championships** **  
** **Ostrava, Czech Republic**

 

 _“Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our natural lives.”_ _―_ **_C.S. Lewis_ ** _,_ **_The Four Loves_ **

 

 

Yuuri had never been rinkside at a competition he wasn’t competing in before.  He’d been in the audience at a few NHK cups as a child before he was a serious competitor.  Minako was always happy to take him every year, helping fuel his interest in the sport.  He’d also traveled a couple times to watch Phichit perform, but he’d always done so from the stands.  Having a rinkside pass as a spectator was a first.

Being there to support Victor basically meant that by extension he was supporting Yurio, Georgi, and Mila, too.   _Skating family by marriage_ , he repeated to himself in his head.  He wasn’t part of the Russian team, but they shared a rink, and that was a bond stronger than anything else among skaters.  The entire team showed up together, but Mila’s skate wasn’t until the next day so she’d be rinkside with Yuuri.  When Victor, Yurio, and Georgi split off to go to the locker room, he hung back with her, Yakov, and Lilia, unsure of what he was supposed to do as an unofficial member of the support staff.  He couldn’t stick to Victor’s side like a coach would, but it felt weird to just go straight to the rinkside seating area right away.  

Mila seemed to notice his confusion and slung an arm around his shoulder.

“Stick with me if you want,” she said with a squeeze of his shoulder.  “You’re part of us now, whether you asked for it or not.”

Yuuri relaxed. Mila was a good person and exactly what he needed right now.  He wasn’t even competing, but he found himself incredibly anxious just because of how new the experience would be for him.  It’d been a strange experience having his idol become his coach, but now his idol was his fiance and he was part of the Russian team’s support crew as a result.  He had no idea what was expected of him.  Stay out of the way?  Actively help?  They probably should have talked about this.

“What do we do exactly?” Yuuri said quietly to her.  “Just… hang out in the hallway?”

“If you want we can stay here,” she said with a smile.  “Or we can go to our seats.  What’d you rather do?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to get in the way here.”

“You won’t!” She clapped him on the shoulder and smiled again.  “We’ll stay here then.  I’m sure Victor will want to see you.”

Yuuri sighed happily.  “Thanks Mila.”

After about half an hour Victor emerged from the locker room and began to scan the hallway.  Yakov was next to him, and the other skaters were still in the locker room, so Yuuri was the only person left he could be looking for so desperately.  He was suddenly glad he didn’t go straight to his seat.  Mila had been right.  In the few seconds it took for Victor to spot him, Yuuri just soaked up the pure beauty that was the legendary Victor Nikiforov.  He was always beautiful, but when he prepared for the ice he became absolutely glamorous. His skin shimmered with the powdery make-up he put on to counteract the harsh stage lights.  This particular powder sparkled, giving him an ethereal look.  If Yuuri wasn’t mistaken, there were sparkles in his hair too.  It was subtle enough that it hadn’t shown up on the video he’d watched, but here in person he was sparkling like an angel.

“Yuuri!” he shouted as he spotted him and bounced down the hallway.  

He practically tackled Yuuri into a hug.  There was nearly an hour before his turn on the ice, so Victor still wore his sneakers and jacket. When Yuuri pulled back from the hug to get a glimpse of the costume underneath, all he could see was a trail of sequins.

“Do you want to see it up close?” Victor asked, noticing what Yuuri was staring at.  “I know you haven’t seen me wear it yet.”

“May I?”  
  
“Of course!” he said as he unzipped his jacket.  

Yuuri was taken back by how beautiful the piece was.  He’d seen the fabric back in Hasetsu, then he got to see the performance recorded online, but seeing it on Victor was an entirely different experience.  He’d watched from afar for so long and now he knew Victor intimately, but it still made Yuuri’s heart stutter seeing how gorgeous his fiance was.  He reached out and gently followed the trail of sequins lightly with the tips of his fingers from Victor’s waist up to to his shoulder.  When he accidentally ran his fingers across the area Victor’s nipple would be, he pulled back and blushed profusely.

“Sorry!”

Victor just laughed and took his hand in his.  He kissed Yuuri’s ring and smiled.

“Gross,” Yurio muttered as he strolled up beside them.  “Can’t you guys keep your hands off each other for one event? Yeesh.”

“Yurio, hello,” Yuuri said bashfully as he pulled his hand out of Victor’s grip.  He was more comfortable with public displays of affection now, but not nearly as comfortable as Victor was.  It still made him blush when people caught them in an intimate moment.

“Ready to win silver again, Victor?” the teen taunted.

“You mean bronze,” Chris said without missing a beat as he joined the group.  “Hello Yuuri,” he said directly into his ear as he wrapped his arm around his midsection and hugged him from the side.  After having seen the videos of them pole dancing together, Chris’s behavior made a lot more sense.  Yuuri didn’t think he’d ever be as affectionate with his friends as Chris, but he wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable with it as he used to be.  “It’s so interesting to see your roles reversed here.  This time Victor will be on the ice and you’ll be the one practically drooling from the sidelines as he drives the audience wild.”

Yuuri covered his face to hide his slightly panicked expression.  He didn’t want to think about either of those scenarios really.  When he stepped onto the ice he was able to slip into a headspace that made performing in front of so many eyes not as difficult to confront.  When he wasn’t in that headspace, though, the thought of so many people watching him was kind of mortifying.  Flipping that around didn’t make him feel any better.  The eyes would be on Victor, but it felt different now that they were engaged.  It was like a part of him would be out there performing, too.  And he had no doubt that the cameras would cut to him at some point during the performance because how often did two skaters get engaged like this?  Two _male_ skaters in particular. Not frequently.  He was part of Victor’s performance even from the sidelines.

“Stop teasing my fiance,” Victor said as he pulled Yuuri closer to him.  Yuuri dropped his hands from his face at this and let himself be pulled into an exaggeratedly protective hug.  “He only drools with he sleeps.”

“Victor!” he scolded, pulling back slightly to glare at his fiance.

“What? It’s okay, _zolotse_ , I drool in my sleep too.”

“I know. You drooled on my shoulder on the flight over,” Yuuri quipped back.  Chris busted out laughing as Yurio rolled his eyes and walked away muttering something not very polite in Russian under his breath.

“I’ll be going to warm up now.  I go on before you do,” Chris said to Victor.  He patted Yuuri lightly on the ass then and winked at them both before turning and walking away.

“I should warm up too,” Victor said to Yuuri. “Will you accompany me, Yuuri?”

“Ah, I’m not your coach. I don’t want to interfere.”

  
“I know.  Yakov will be with Yurio, most likely.  Georgi will likely be there too.  I don’t usually warm up around everyone else anyway.  Come with?”

“Sure,” Yuuri said, happy that Victor was providing him with an option other than just standing around awkwardly.

-

 

They’d found a secluded room a few hallways away from the main backstage area and set to work.  Yuuri and Victor had warmed up together many times, but the dynamic was quite different when Yuuri didn’t need to participate.  He focused entirely on helping Victor, much like how a coach would.  Very few words passed between them during the warm ups, with Yuuri being there if Victor reached for him to help keep balance or to push or pull him just a tad further into a stretched pose.  They were in sync with each other, despite the roles being different this time.  Without meaning to, Yuuri felt himself slipping into that familiar pre-performance headspace.  Perhaps it was the familiarity of their warm ups, or just the chance to be near Victor before having to go in front of thousands of people.  It didn’t matter which side he was on, Victor’s presence provided comfort.  He felt like it could be the same for Victor.

Victor’s alarm went off on his phone, interrupting their warm up and the ever calming mental state.  Yuuri picked up the phone and read the alert.

“Yurio’s about to go on,” he said as he looked up at Victor, who was raising himself out of the splits he’d been in.  “Do you want to go watch or do you need to warm up more?”

“Let’s go watch.  I’m only two programs after him.  We should head up anyway.”

“You sure?”

“Mmhm.  I’ll put my skates on before we head rink side.  Come with me to the locker room?”

He wasn’t a coach, but without realizing it he’d very much taken up the role as Victor’s support staff at the event.  He wondered if at other events Victor had done all this alone.  Yakov seemed to let him do his own thing most of the time.  Though the previous year’s Grand Prix Final had been a disaster for Yuuri, he still remembered how it felt to be backstage with all the other skaters.  Victor was nowhere to be found until right before he went out on the ice.  Yakov, however, was occasionally present in the common areas without him.  But Victor wanted him here, it seemed.  And Yuuri was happy to oblige.

They got to the side of the rink just as the lights went down for _Agape_.

“Yurio, Davai!” Yuuri shouted through the silence.

“Ganba, Yurio!” Victor shouted almost simultaneously.

  
There was a murmur in the audience at their words, but neither of them were very much aware of the crowd at that moment.  Their focus was entirely on Yurio as the lights came up and the music began to play.  Yurio was as beautiful as ever as he moved through the program, his growing hair flowing freely as he spun and jumped elegantly to the music.  He and Victor leaned against the rink wall during the entire program, reached for each other’s hands in the dark as they watched him perform.  They squeezed their hands together at every jump and whooped loudly each time Yurio landed one cleanly.  They only let go when Yurio had taken his final pose so that they could clap loudly and scream for him.  They hadn’t realized it, but the live feed had cut to them then as they cheered.

They stood near the gate as Yurio skated toward the exit on his way to the Kiss and Cry.  As he got within earshot Yuuri shouted to him.

“Amazing, Yurio! You might beat your own record.”

“Not likely,” he said as he stepped off the ice.  “My quad axel didn’t land as cleanly as GPF.”  He nodded towards Victor.  “It was enough to beat him, though!”

“Maybe,” Victor said with a smile.

Yurio tried his best to hide his own smile as he turned towards the Kiss and Cry to join Yakov and Lilia.  He didn’t beat his record, but he got damn close.  The final SP score for Yurio was 114.21, which was impressive even without considering his higher score previously.  Yakov clapped him on the back in celebration and Lilia looked like she was about to cry. Yurio had a good chance at taking gold again.  Even Victor didn’t score that high on a consistent basis.

There was one performance after Yurio and before Victor.  It was an up and comer from France that neither of them really knew, but they watched from the sidelines anyway, holding each other close in the few minutes they had before all eyes were on them.  Despite being surrounded by thousands of people and cameras broadcasting the events to the world, this was a small respite as this other skater performed. With Victor’s skates on he was much taller than Yuuri, but they still found a comfortable position to embrace each other.  Victor bent down to kiss Yuuri’s temple as they watched the French skater perform in front of them.  Yuuri turned his head and got on his tiptoes to kiss Victor’s lips, but the contact was brief.

“No fair,” Yuuri muttered.

“Hm?”

“You are way too tall when you’re wearing skates and I’m not.”

“I’m adjusting,” Victor teased, remaining slightly bent over to remain at eye level.

The crowd around them erupted in cheers and they realized the French skater had concluded his program.  The camera briefly cut to them and Yuuri blushed at the fact that their intimate moment had just been broadcast so widely.  He really wished their moment hadn’t taken away from the other skater’s performance, though.   The performance started long before the music would begin to play and he knew it.  It was just like at Rostelecom when the audience was loudly cheering for Victor, despite the fact Yuuri was the one taking to the ice.  

The other skater exited the ice and Victor removed his jacket and skate guards.  He handed the objects to Yakov, who uttered some last minute advice in Russian as Victor stepped onto the ice.  Victor responded and smiled to his coach, but then he turned his attention to Yuuri, who was still standing at the wall a few feet from the door.  He skated towards him and stopped next to him at the wall, reached out to take his fiance’s hands in his own.

“You’re beautiful,” Yuuri said as he reached out to brush a strand of hair out of Victor’s eyes.  Some of the glitter got onto Yuuri’s hands, but before he could make a fuss of it, Victor had surged forward to kiss him gently on the lips.

“As are you, _zolotse_.”

“You’re the one glowing like an angel right now.”

Victor laced their fingers together and brought Yuuri’s ring to his lips.

“Hm, you’re as gorgeous as an angel even without the help of makeup and costuming.”

“And now, representing Russia,” the announcer said over the loudspeaker.  “Five time world champion Victor Nikiforov.”

“Davai, Victor,” Yuuri said quickly, pulling Victor’s hand to his own lips to kiss his ring in return.

  
Victor skated away, their fingers lingering together until the last possible second when he moved out of reach.  Only then at that last separation did Victor turn his attention to the audience, raising his arms up in greeting as the roar of the crowd met deafening levels.  Everyone was excited for Victor’s return to the ice.   _Everyone_.  He’d never heard cheering this loud before.

Victor took to the center of the ice in his starting position, one arm raised elegantly above his head and the other wrapped across his abdomen.  Then the first notes of the song began to play and Victor started to move.  He was as beautiful as ever as he launched into his first sit spin, sequins catching the bright stage lights and throwing beautiful patterns across the ice.  It was so much more captivating in person than it was watching on a computer screen.

He stepped out of the spin into a step sequence that highlighted Victor’s natural grace and poise.  Yuuri had seen very similar moves when they trained, but nothing could beat seeing it in person.  He stepped out of the sequence into a quad flip, landing the move cleanly.  Yuuri clutched his chest, overcome with how beautiful seeing Victor’s signature move was in a program.  They’d worked so hard and so long to get Yuuri to be able to manage it, it’d become a crucial part of their relationship on and off the ice.  The move had become a representation of their love.

Victor moved through the various parts of his program as the music climaxed.  He launched into a quad salchow and then began his final camel spin as the music began to fade into its final few notes.  His spin began to slow and he raised his arm out horizontally until it landed pointing directly at Yuuri.  The parallel to Yuuri’s final Free Skate pose pushed him over the edge and Yuuri couldn’t hold back his emotions anymore.  He began to cry, overwhelmed at seeing his fiance perform a piece that complimented his own.  As much as _Eros_ was Yuuri’s declaration to the world that Victor was his, _Storge_ was Victor’s declaration to the world that they were family.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the poodle tissue box get set on the wall next to him.  He reached out and pulled out some tissues to wipe his tears away and looked up to find Yurio trying his best to keep a neutral expression.  He couldn’t let anyone know he’d been affected by the piece as well.  Especially not when the cameras were aimed at them. _He has a punk reputation to uphold_ , Yuuri thought to himself.  His fangirls would probably go crazy at any hint of sentimentality, however.

“Thank you,” Yuuri said to him.

“Yeah,” he said, burying his hands into his jacket pockets.

Victor skated off the ice directly into Yuuri’s arms.  They hugged briefly, but then Victor was taking him by the hand and leading him to the Kiss and Cry.  Yuuri was still on such an emotional high he was beyond questioning where he should be at this point.  He took a seat to one side of his fiance as Yakov sat opposite of him as they waited for the scores.  Victor had grabbed a large bouquet off the ice and had shifted it to one arm so he could grab Yuuri’s hand in his own.  They squeezed their hands together tightly as they waited for the score to be read off.

_111.82._

Second place for the Short Program.  He was just behind Yurio.  But it was still an incredible score, even for Victor.  Without thinking, Yuuri reached over and kissed Victor on the lips, cameras be damned.  The crowd went wild then and the reality that he’d done that so publicly dawned on him.  His performance high melted away then and he blushed furiously, but Victor pulled him in for another kiss and hug.  The cameras didn’t matter anymore.  He was going to enjoy this moment with Victor anyway.


	6. Chapter Five: January 27, 2017 European Championships

**Chapter Five  
** **January 27, 2017  
** **European Championships** **  
** **Ostrava, Czech Republic**

 

 _“It is easy to acknowledge, but almost impossible to realize for long, that we are mirrors whose brightness, if we are bright, is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us.”_ _―_ **_C.S. Lewis_ ** _,_ **_The Four Loves_ **

 

 

Victor would be performing second to last for his Free Skate, with Yurio following up behind him due to his higher score.  It was the first time Victor wasn’t performing last for the FS in many years, but once again he didn’t seem too bothered by watching Yurio surpass him.  Yuuri considered the fact that this was the second time Victor and Yurio had competed, but Yuuri had yet to compete against his fiance himself.  He wondered if he would surpass Victor at Worlds, just as Yurio was doing so now.  The thought sent a mix of excitement and panic throughout him, but he had over a month before that would happen and there was no use getting anxious about it now.  It’d certainly be different than any competition he’d been in.

“I’m so excited for you to hear the music, Yuuri,” Victor said, leaning forward to touch his toes as he stretched on the floor.

  
“I heard it when I watched your videos online.”

“Yes, but really _feel_ it.  It’s different when you hear it in a stadium.”

“Yes, it really is,” Yuuri said with a smile.  He definitely understood what Victor meant. His earbuds weren’t the best quality in the first place so the previous times he’d listened to  the music were already less than perfect, but the energy of a live crowd could change how a song felt too.

“I’m glad I kept in touch with the band.  I might want to use them again!”

“Or maybe I’ll use them,” Yuuri said, handing the water bottle over after Victor casually motioned for it.

“We could have matching songs!” Victor took a sip of his water.

“We already do, Victor.   _Eros_ and _Storge_.”

“Oh,” Victor said, twisting the cap back onto the water.  “You’re right! Well, we could have matching songs _again_.”

This time around they set an alarm to alert them so that they could see Chris perform right before Victor.  Victor laced up his skates rinkside as Chris performed to _Rapsodie Espagnole_.  Chris’s Free Skate was powerful as always, earning him a 201.12.  When he he exited the rink they greeted each other fondly before Chris was ushered off to the Kiss and Cry.  Victor took off his jacket and skate guards and handed them to Yakov before stepping on the ice.  Just like during the Short Program, Victor took a few words of encouragement from Yakov before skating up to Yuuri.

“You’re beautiful.   _Again_ ,” Yuuri said with a blush, mimicking the way Victor had said it before.

“I’m reflecting your beauty,” he responded, changing the mood from light hearted teasing to a spontaneously romantic one.  He was pretty good at doing that.  It often threw Yuuri off when he was suddenly romanced without warning.

“Victor,” Yuuri said, unable to articulate the way his fiance took his breath away.

“It’s true,” Victor said, rubbing his thumb over Yuuri’s engagement ring adoringly.  “The music came from your hometown. The fabric weaved and printed in your prefecture.  These are all the beautiful things that came from the same place as beautiful Katsuki Yuuri.”

“You’re going to make me cry before the music even starts,” Yuuri said, lowering his head to hide the rising tears in his eyes.  He didn’t like getting emotional when the cameras were on them.  And he was very much aware today just _how much_ they were focused on them at that very moment.  This skate would determine the success of Victor’s comeback after taking half the season off to train Yuuri. Then get _engaged_ to him.   _Of course_ all eyes were on them.

Victor reached out and pulled Yuuri towards himself until their foreheads touched.  He shut his eyes then and lowered the volume of his voice.  The cameras couldn’t pick up their words from this distance making it a more private moment.

“I want us to get married in Hasetsu.  I couldn’t think of anywhere else more perfect.”

Yuuri released a shaky sigh.   _God_ , Victor knew how to stir his emotions so easily.  He always had, even before strolling into his life at the Onsen.  His wedding vows would probably be ridiculously moving too, whenever that would happen.  They hadn’t set a date. But Yuuri hadn’t exactly won gold yet, either.  He wasn’t sure how seriously their marriage hinged on winning, but it was still motivating nonetheless.

“When I win gold, right?”

“Right,” Victor said as he opened his eyes.  “You’ll get it at Worlds.  When you beat me and take away my last World Record for the total score.”  His lips curled into a smile then and Yuuri laughed in response.  The thought of beating him was once again simultaneously thrilling and intimidating.

“A spring wedding,” Yuuri said, bringing Victor’s ring up to his lips for a soft kiss.  “When the cherry blossoms bloom again?”

“Exactly.”

“And now,” the announcer said, cutting their moment short. “Representing Russia.  Victor Nikiforov.”

“ _Aishiteru_ , Yuuri.”

Yuuri smiled, but then his eyes widened when he realized Victor had said ‘I love you’ in Japanese.  They often reverted back to their own language for small phrases that could be easily understood, and even occasionally taught each other useful words to make their time in each other’s countries easier to maneuver.  But this was the most intimate thing Victor had ever said to him in his own language.

Their fingers lingered again as Victor backed away from the wall, the Russian enjoying the last possible second of contact before he turned to skate to the middle of the ring.  Yeah, Yuuri was screwed.  He was definitely going to cry before the first note of music started to play.  Could Victor stop being so damn romantic for five minutes?  Probably not.  Not that Yuuri _generally_ minded, but goddamn he was going to cry on camera again.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Makkachin tissue box held out to him and he turned to see who’d done him the courtesy.  Yurio stood with the box outstretched,

“Just take the tissue, Katsudon,” he huffed, shaking the poodle shaped box for emphasis.

“Thank you,” Yuuri said, taking out a couple of tissues as directed.  He turned his attention back to Victor as he took his starting pose, head bowed and one skate turned slightly outward from the rest of his body.

The first note of the piece was the shamisen, which wasn’t an instrument that Yuuri heard too often, but still conjured images of Japan.  The instrument was soon joined by the more modern music that Yuuri was used to.  At that, Victor began to move on the ice, choreography more casual with the rock music than it had been for the classical sounding Short Program.  He was still incredibly graceful, but there was a more lively energy humming below the surface.  And beyond that, Victor was smiling, clearly enjoying himself as NE2KO blasted across the arena.

In addition to the casualness of his choreography, his technical components were also slightly different than usual.  He still did his signature Quad Flip, but he also added the Quad Toe Loop, which was a reference to Yuuri’s most common quad before Victor had arrived in Hasetsu.  He also focused much more on step sequences that paid homage to some of the ones Yuuri had done in the past.  Victor had sat down one day and watched all of Yuuri’s performances dating back to his Junior days, which was only moderately embarrassing for Yuuri.  When planning the choreography for his Free Skate, Victor had gone back to his favorite programs and made some notes.  Though the feeling of the music between the NE2KO song and the pieces he was inspired by were very different, Victor adapted it and made it work to this song’s individual flair.  Yuuri was flattered that some of his older pieces had inspired him.

As Victor took his last pose out of a flying sit spin the crowd erupted.  Yuuri and Yurio both shouted ‘Davai,’ but their voices were lost in the sea of voices cheering him on.  Within seconds, after politely bowing to the crowd, Victor was skating to the edge of the rink and straight towards Yuuri and Yurio.  The moment he stepped off the ice he pulled Yuuri into an embrace.

“You’re beautiful,” Yuuri said directly into Victor’s ear, trying to be heard over the roaring audience around them.

The crowd roared even louder when Yurio stepped onto the ice behind them.  The sudden commotion pulled them out of their moment and they both turned to look at the younger skater, who was watching them.  When he realized he’d been caught staring, he furrowed his brow and turned to skate over to Yakov for their pre-skate discussion.

“Davai Yurio!” they both shouted over the cheers of the audience.

Yurio turned slightly to nod at the pair, a small acknowledgement that he appreciated their encouragement before he stopped at the barrier in front of Yakov.  Victor took Yuuri by the hand and led him to the Kiss and Cry to await his scores.  As Yakov was giving Yurio last minute advice, this left Victor and Yuuri in the kiss and cry together alone.  It wasn’t unusual it just being the two of them, but the context was different.  

“It’s strange,” Yuuri said as they took a seat on the bench.

“What is?” Victor asked somewhat breathily, still catching his breath from the performance.

“You and I in the Kiss and Cry alone together, but _you_ are the one wearing the skates.”

“Just a few weeks and it’ll be you again,” Victor said with a smile. He laced their hands together and turned to the monitor in front of them to wait for his score.

_202.97._

So far Victor was in first place.  Usually that’d be the end of the story, but for the first time in many years Victor wasn’t the last one to skate.  There was still a very real chance of him getting knocked out of the top spot.  Still, Victor blew a kiss to the audience before raising Yuuri’s hand to his lips and leaving a soft kiss on the back of his hand.

Just then all attention turned to Yurio, who took his starting position on the ice.  From the Kiss and Cry, Victor and Yuuri had a perfect view.   _Allegro Appasionato in B-Minor_ began to play and Yurio launched into his routine.  Victor and Yuuri’s hands remained interlocked through the entire performance.

-

 

Yurio beat Victor by less than five points, with Chris trailing Victor by ten.  The three of them took to the podium together as the 2017 European Champions to thunderous applause.  Yuuri watched from the sidelines as the media swarmed around the three skaters moments after stepping off the podium.  It was surreal not being a competitor at an event like this, but for a brief moment he enjoyed not having to deal with the press.  But his break from being in the spotlight was short as a British news outlet quickly descended on him and thrust a microphone in his direction.

“How does it feel that your fiance won silver today? Do you think you can beat him and your rival at Worlds?”

“Um,” Yuuri said, taking a few seconds to understand the questions.  “I’m proud of them both.  I don’t know who will win at Worlds but… I’m excited.”

“Is Victor Nikiforov still competitive? Does he still have a chance?”

  
“Ha, Victor ‘still competitive?’” Yuuri didn’t mean to laugh and he quickly stopped himself. He always tried to be cautious around the press.  Sometimes he’d ramble without thinking and that had led to some pretty embarrassing interviews.  “Yes, he is.  Of course he is.”

“You beat his Free Skate record. The Russian Yuri beat his Short Program.  Will either of you beat his combined score record?”

“Of course one of them will,” Victor interrupted, stepping into the interview and wrapping his arms around Yuuri.  “But when is the question.  Will you break it at Four Continents?”

“Victor,” Yuuri chided, cheeks turning red at how free Victor was with his touches in front of the cameras.

“What? I’m just telling the truth.  Now let’s go, I want to celebrate before the banquet.”

Victor pulled Yuuri away from the interview, but the couple was stopped at least ten more times before finally being able to exit the arena.


	7. Chapter Six: February 4th, 2017

**Chapter Six  
** **February 4th, 2017**

 

_ “We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves.”   _ **_―_ ** **_C.S. Lewis_ ** **_,_ ** **_The Four Loves_ **

 

February was still bitterly cold in Saint Petersburg.  Victor, Yuuri, and Yurio were enjoying their day off in the comfort of their warm apartment.  Yuuri sat at the kitchen counter scrolling through social media on his laptop while Victor brewed tea in the kitchen.  Yurio had practically claimed the couch as his own at this point, but neither Victor or Yuuri minded.  Somehow they’d settled into a rhythm for how to share the common space and Yurio laying on the couch scrolling through his phone was a solid part of that.  

“What flight are you guys on?” Yurio said from his position on the couch.

“Hm?”  Yuuri looked up from his laptop, thrown off by the question.  Worlds was months away and they hadn’t booked their flights yet.  Not many had.  “For what?”

“For Four Continents, dumbass.  It’s only a couple of weeks away.  If I wait the prices will go up.”

“I don’t know. I’d have to look,” Yuuri said as he opened up his email and started looking for his reservation. “Why do you need it?”

“I want to book the same one.  I hate flying alone.”   
  
“You’re going?” Yuuri asked, confused.

Victor emerged from the kitchen at that, sipping his tea and watching the conversation unfold without intervening.

“I won’t be going if I don’t book this stupid flight.”  Yuuri broke out into a smile and Yurio sighed.  “Don’t make a big deal out of it, Katsudon.  You came to ours. Now I’m going to yours.  Get the flight details so I can book already.  You flying coach or first class?”

“Um, coach.  Right, here’s the schedule,” Yuuri said, opening up the email.  “Korean Air 4271 on February 23rd at 8:00am.  We’re 48 A and B.”

“An early flight? Ugh, we’ll have to leave here at like five to get there on time.”

“You don’t have to fly with us,” Victor said.  “You could come later.  You don’t have any pre skating obligations like we do.”

“I told you. I hate flying alone,” the teen said as he sat up on the couch.  “And Katsudon?”

“Yes?” Yuuri looked up and a silent moment passed between them.

“If I’m getting up that early, you better get gold. It’s your only chance since you won’t be competing with me.  Then you guys can get hitched and we can be done with this pre wedding flirtation thing you’ve got going on.”

“Ah, no, it’s got to be Worlds or the GPF,” Victor chimed in.

“When was that a qualifier?” Yuuri asked teasingly.  They hadn’t exactly treated the circumstances surrounding a potential gold medal win and following wedding with serious parameters, but Yuuri was enjoying the teasing.  “I figured any international competition would count.”

“I decided I wanted you to beat  _ me _ .  I want to kiss that gold more than  _ anything _ .  The gold that knocked me down the podium,”  Victor winked.

“I’ve already shoved you down the podium,” Yurio snarked from the couch.

“Ah, so do you want me to kiss your medal, Yurio?” Victor teased back.

“Keep your lips away from my medals,” he grumped as he continued to scroll through his phone.  “Damn, the seat next to you guys is taken,” Yurio said, sitting up from his reclining position on the couch and stretching.  “At least I got a seat across the aisle from you.  Annoying, though.   Anyway, I’m going to go take a nap and try not to think about how much money I spent on a plane ticket to a competition I’m not actually in.”  

He stood up and retreated to his room, Sasha in tow.  Yuuri blinked in confusion, taken back by Yuuri’s sudden display of support.

“That was… interesting,” Victor said as he took the seat opposite of Yuuri at the table.

“It was. Why do you think he wants to go?” he said as he turned to his partner.

“To cheer you on, of course.”  Victor smiled.

Yuuri paused and mulled this over.  Yurio didn’t travel to watch Georgi or Mila.  He didn’t want to give up the rink time.  Yuuri himself had only ever traveled to watch Phichit before.  And now Victor, of course. Phichit was his best friend.  Practically a brother.  And Victor was his fiance.  They were  _ family. _ But would he travel to watch Yurio alone, even if Victor wasn’t there?  Yuuri spent all of five seconds mulling it over because the answer was pretty clear.  He obviously  _ would _ . 

“Yuuri, why are you crying?” Victor said, setting his tea and the table and standing from his seat.

“What? Oh,” Yuuri said as he removed his glasses and wiped the tears from his eyes that he hadn’t even realized had started to fall.  Dammit, how many times was he going to cry this skate season?  Both on and off the ice he just couldn’t stop getting way too emotional about everything that was happening.

Victor came up behind him and leaned over to pull him in a hug.

“Is something wrong?” Victor whispered softly in his ear.

  
“No, it’s the opposite,” Yuuri said as he turned into the hug.  He reached an arm around Victor’s neck and turned his face into his fiance’s chest.  “I… I didn’t expect someone besides you to care this much.  I mean, here, in your home rink....”

“Yuuri, of course they like you.”

“No, I know.  But with Yurio it’s different.  He makes me feel like I did back in Hasetsu with my family, or in Detroit with Phichit. We’re not just rinkmates.  He actually  _ cares  _ about me doing well. I just… I hadn’t realized…”  He wiped the tears from his eyes again and picked up his glasses to put them back on.  “Sorry, this is just me being stupid.”

“No, it’s not stupid.  Come on,” Victor said as he straightened up.  “Yurio’s vacated his couch.  Let’s sit for a moment, okay?”

Yuuri nodded and set his glasses back on the table.  He wasn’t sure if he’d cry again, but if he was going to cuddle on that tiny couch with Victor, they’d probably get knocked awkwardly anyway.  He definitely needed some cuddles right now as he thought his way through his emotions. Victor laid on his back and Yuuri laid on top of him, head resting against his chest.  He idly ran his fingers through Yuuri’s hair, humming soothingly as Yuuri relaxed into the embrace.  Moments like these had grown incredibly common with them since they’d officially moved in together.  Yuuri had never considered himself a tactile person, but Victor definitely was.  Somewhere along the way Yuuri had grown to love it and actively seek it out.

“I’ve known him for five years now, you know.” Victor said quietly.  “And I’ve grown closer to him than I have anyone else who trained under Yakov.  He’s always been a bit, uh, bratty.”  Yuuri laughed slightly and Victor continued petting his hair gently.  “But he’s got a big heart under all that.  He always has.  He just expresses it in very subtle ways.  I think that’s why I liked him so much even when he was a kid.  If you couldn’t pick up on the subtleties he just seemed like a punk.  But if you can pick up on them, he’ll surprise you with how much he cares.”

“You sure do love surprises,” Yuuri said with a chuckle.

“I  _ do _ .  You surprise me. Yurio surprises me.  And now I guess he’s surprised you too.”

“Thank you,” Yuuri whispered.

“For what?”

“Everything.  All of this.  For the best skating season of my life.”

“I should be thanking you for that.”

“Maybe we should thank Yurio too,” Yuuri said with a slight laugh.

“He’d probably just tell us to shut up.”

“You’re probably right.”

They fell into a comfortable silence again and the minutes ticked by as they relaxed in each other’s presence.  Moving to Saint Petersburg had been a perfect choice.  At first it’d simply seemed like a logical decision based on the location of the only coach Victor trusted.  Yuuri had lived away from his home for five years, anyway, but this last year at home had made him remember all the things he’d be missing.  He’d expected homesickness to hit hard, and it did to some extent.  But having not only Victor, but Yurio around as essentially a new family member, made the transition easier.  

“I’m hungry,” the teen announced as he barged into the room and made straight for the kitchen. His sudden presence seemed to snap both Victor and Yuuri out of the moment.  “I’m making stroganoff.  You guys can have some.”

“Sure, Yurio,” Victor said from his position still under Yuuri.

This was it. This was his family here. His new life and new future.


	8. Epilogue: February 25th, 2017 - Four Continents Championships

**Epilogue  
** **February 25th, 2017  
** **Four Continents Championships** ****  
**Gangneung, South Korea**   
  


 

He hadn’t performed Eros in front of an audience since Nationals two months ago and he really hoped he could execute the type of performance he’d done at Rostelecom.  That’d been his most emotional performance of the piece and the highest score of the season at 109.97.  He’d been practicing the entire time since then.

“Mm, are you ready to seduce me in front of thousands of people again, Yuuri,” Victor said as he reached out to take Yuuri’s hand in his own.

Yuuri laced their fingers together with one and pulled Victor closer to him by the tie.  With their faces just inches apart, Yuuri could feel Victor’s breath on his face as he spoke.

“How does it feel to be back on that side of the barrier and performing for  _ me _ again.”

“I  _ have  _ missed this.”  Yuuri released Victor’s tie and cupped his his face.  “How will it feel to be back on _ that  _ side.”

“It does feel good to be the one being seduced instead of the one seducing again.  You have no idea what you do to me.”

“I have a pretty good idea,” Yuuri said as he leaned in and left a soft kiss on his fiance’s lips.  A brief flash of astonishment at his own spontaneity flashed through him.  Where did  _ this _ come from.  The same thing came over him at the European Championships.  Kissing was just a  _ thing  _ at competitions now, he supposed.

“And now, representing Japan,” the announcer said.  Yuuri pulled back to look Victor in the eye’s one last time before skating to his starting position.  “Yuuri Katsuki.”

Yuuri took a deep breath and pushed away from wall as the crowd cheered for him.  The roar was even louder than the one at the GPF.  He knew Minako and Mari were in the crowd, but the Nishigori’s had traveled here too.  It’d been the triplets’ first International trip and they’d been overjoyed.  His mom and dad had stayed back at home, but were hosting a viewing party with many of the locals.

The applause quieted down as he took his starting position, but one familiar voice cut through the near silence.

“Ganbatte!” came Yurio’s voice clear as a bell. There was a small murmur in the audience at that. He’d waited for the crowd to lull specially so he’d have that effect, Yuuri thought to himself, smirking slightly.

  
Then the music began to play and Yuuri lost himself to  _ Eros _ .


End file.
